Mr. Ian Power:

I will make a brief point. The social determinants of health are important when discussing young people in the Traveller community. The young people to whom we speak refer to the ability to live in stable accommodation that is serviced properly. The No. 1 recommendation we would make - it is called for by young people in the Traveller community - is for local authorities to spend the budget available to them for Traveller accommodation. There is little point in trying to address psychological issues with young people if the basic needs they require to live happy lives are not being met.

The new Crisis Text Line will be funded by the HSE. We are working with Pavee Point as one of our first partner organisations. We are piloting the service with young people from the Traveller community. An important element was developing a training module for the people working in the service that showed them how to engage with young people from the Traveller community on their terms and in the ways in which they wanted to be engaged.

That has taken a significant amount of time, but it is important. State and voluntary services should be trying to engage and understand how to provide services for young people, no matter from what priority group they come, and to design them in such a way as to make them engaging and welcoming for them.